Google working on a tool to remove personal data following EU court ruling
Google is working on a new tool that will give internet users the ability to delete outdated or unwanted search results about themselves. This follows the judgement by the European Union Court of Justice last week.
According to a Computerworld report, who cite Johannes Caspar, Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection, would consist of a number of different authentication methods that would be used to make take-down requests in a coherent manner.
This follows the fact that Google was last week slapped down with a ruling from a European court, stating that users should have the ability to have personal search results removed.
The decision, which was made on May 11th by the Court of Justice, follows concerns from individuals that outdated and embarrassing content of themselves lingers on the internet for all to see. This was deemed as wrong by the court and said that content should be removed upon the user’s request. The decision presents a huge challenge to existing internet orthodoxy, which is that once something is online, it is always online – Google and other companies vigorously opposed the ruling, because it could fundamentally change how their business operates.
Now though, once a user requests for data to be deleted, companies such as Google are expected to see if they’re relevant and remove them – at least for European users.
Computerworld notes that Google already offers up some automation tools for removing sensitive personal data such as signatures and bank details, but this will take what’s currently there a lot further.
At the moment, Google hasn’t confirmed any details with regards to the reported feature but has made it clear that it is working around the clock to get things put in place.
